Gamestation shops to be rebranded as GAME - report

Update: GAME Retail boss Martyn Gibbs has spoken about the rebranding decision. There will be a new loyalty scheme; Gamestation's trade-in price-match will remain; there will be Wi-Fi in all shops; a GAME app; a better PC download service; and a new store feature called GAME Hunter.

GAME Hunter will let shoppers browse and order - for delivery to any UK address - any game from GAME's entire range, presumably via a computer in store. These can be old and new games and either physical or digital.

Said he, speaking with MCV: "The new GAME will combine the best of both brands. For example, the Gamestation trade-in proposition, 'We Won't Be Beaten On Trade-In', continues under the new unified brand and likewise the passionate and knowledgeable gamestation store teams stay with us and continue to provide outstanding support and advice for all gamers.

"Our aim is to hold the UK's biggest range of games, gaming gear and exclusive content whilst also ensuring that we are constantly evolving, listening to our customers and adapting our approach to really deliver for them. The above initiatives are only a snapshot of a whole host of exciting plans in the pipeline: new titles, formats, partnerships, digital initiatives. We forward to sharing them with our customers as soon as we can."

Original story: All Gamestation shops are to be rebranded as GAME shops, GAME Retail announced during a private meeting today, MCV reported.

Eurogamer contacted GAME about the report, but were told the chain could not yet comment.

Gamestation and GAME were once rivals, until GAME acquired the more hip and core gamer-facing chain of shops in 2007.

Gamestation shops make up 122 of GAME Group's 341 stores. The shop names may be different, but the two brands have long touted the same game prices among other things.

What will become of gamestation.co.uk is as yet unclear.

Previous GAME and Gamestation owner GAME Group PLC collapsed earlier this year, only to be reborn as Game Retail Ltd.

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Submit your questions for Hideo Kojima's Eurogamer Expo session

BUMP! Get your questions in before Monday.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who's submitted a question so far! We'll be accepting them until Monday morning, so if you haven't already then make sure to get yours in below.

ORIGINAL STORY: There are now just over two weeks to go until Hideo Kojima is on stage at this year's Eurogamer Expo. The man who Big Boss probably calls the big boss will be live at 2pm on Thursday 27th September at this year's event.

I absolutely cannot tell you what he plans to show you or I will be zapped unconscious and bundled into a nearby storage locker, but I have been authorised to note that the creator of the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is planning a surprise.

WHO CAN SAY?

It also seems fair to note that he is the creator of the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, because one would have to imagine that this information would be supremely relev-aaahfhghghzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Huh? Muh?

Creeeeeeak.

Huh? Oh. Hello. So anyway, I also need to get you to submit questions for Mr Kojima, who will be answering a number of your hottest queries live on stage during his Eurogamer Expo developer session.

So, if you have a question you would like Hideo Kojima to answer, please submit it using the form below. We will then select a few of the best and use them to grill the man himself live on Thursday 27th at the Eurogamer Expo.

It should be amazing.

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Mass Effect 3 Wii U includes day-one DLC From Ashes as standard

Mass Effect 3: Special Edition for Wii U will include the From Ashes add-on, which launched as a paid day-one DLC pack on other platforms.

Those who played the game on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 had to stump up ?7.99/800 Microsoft Points for the content, which includes an extra squad member and missions.

Nintendo UK confirmed the detail in a press release seen by Eurogamer today.

From Ashes includes an important chunk of in-game lore and a character of importance to the series' back-story. Early leaked versions of the Mass Effect 3 script included a version of this character as part of the main game. As the game's story evolved, the character was side-lined and eventually sold separately from the finished product.

Other changes in the Mass Effect 3: Special Edition for Wii U include GamePad controls, the inclusion of the recent Extended Cut ending as standard, and a digital comic covering the events of Mass Effect 1 and 2.

"We're very conscious of not wanting to mess up," boss of Mass Effect 3 Wii U developer Straight Right Tom Crago explained to Eurogamer last week. "Given the level of expectation and the fact that we're taking something which, on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and PC, was exceptionally good."

"You look at the game and think 'how could I possibly make this better?'"

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Ubisoft brings top talent to Eurogamer Expo developer sessions

Here we go! I'm very happy to shade in a few of the remaining blocks on this year's Eurogamer Expo developer sessions page by revealing that Far Cry 3, Assassin's Creed 3 and Splinter Cell: Blacklist are all on the schedule for this year's event!

On Thursday 27th September at 1pm, Far Cry 3's lead designer Jamie Kean will be taking to the developer sessions stage to show attendees what Ubisoft Montreal has been cooking up with the studio's ambitious and subversive new first-person shooter.

Then, at 1pm on Friday 28th September, Assassin's Creed 3 creative director Alex Hutchinson and animation director Jonathan Cooper will be on stage to give you an inside look at one of this year's biggest games - the final instalment in Desmond's sequence of Assassin's Creed titles.

Finally, Ubisoft Toronto cinematic director David Footman - who is cutting into his vacation time to be with you, gawd bless him - will introduce Splinter Cell: Blacklist to attendees in a developer session at 1.30pm on Saturday 29th September.

All of which means there is just one more developer session yet to be announced, and according to my sources (i.e. emailing the publisher repeatedly and crying and howling down the phone in desperation), I should be able to tell you about it next week.

The Eurogamer Expo takes place at Earls Court in London from 27th-30th September. Check out http://www.eurogamerexpo.com/ for more details and tickets.

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Trailer for Insomniac's Fuse delayed

Update:The debut Fuse trailer is finally out. It reveals a visually clean but unspectacular shooter, but one with great guns and abilities.

A Magshield ability produced a bubbly wall for protection. Shattergun shot tendrils spikes up from the floor and froze/restrained an enemy who then shattered under fire. It looked like you can perform this on groups of enemies.

One application of Arcshot appeared to melt a group of enemies. The other application skewered them on flaming crossbow bolts. Warp Rifle produced mini gravitational warp fields/balls and then exploded.

You can also slide, punch and co-operate with other players.

Original story: Ted Price, the founder and CEO of Insomniac Games, has posted a message on the official site of the studio's upcoming action game, Fuse, to explain the absence of the first official trailer. The site had hosted a countdown which ran out at 6am, Pacific Daylight Time, on September 12th. That's today, you see. But no trailer appeared, leading to terrified panic, spiritual distress and disgruntled forum posts.

"We had an awesome trailer planned and finished. Unfortunately a last-minute legal rights issue has prevented us from releasing the trailer as planned," reads the message. "EA is trying to obtain the necessary approvals and we hope to bring the trailer to you soon. After discussing internally, we wanted to stop the countdown and explain what happened."

No further details are given on the delay, although from the wording it sounds like it could be an issue with clearances - possibly for music used in the trailer.

Curious fans won't have long to wait, as press previews and gameplay clips are still scheduled to start going live over the next few days.

Fuse began life as Overstrike, a four-player co-op action game, and the first multi-platform release from the previously PlayStation-exclusive studio. In August, the developer announced at PAX Prime that the game had been overhauled and retitled. This trailer was to have been our first look at the new and presumably improved version.

Overstrike's teaser trailer from June last year. What's changed?

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